


TwinTails

by ShySpider



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Assault, Captivity, F/M, Fluff, Illnesses, Merformers, Mers perceived as animals and not sentient, Other, Rescue Mission, Romance?, Sexual Content, Violence, You are a Marine Biologist, inability to communicate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:42:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28577703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShySpider/pseuds/ShySpider
Summary: Kept in captivity for...how long? Sideswipe wouldn't dare ask Sunstreaker.They drift about their fetid tanks, dreaming of the open ocean, of their pods, and hunting for anything other than the dead fish forced down their gullets.The dreams of better times are few, as the nightmares of what these bipeds do to them continue.Will you save them from this nightmare? Or are you like those who research them like animals?
Relationships: Sideswipe/Reader, Sideswipe/You, Sunstreaker/Reader, Sunstreaker/You
Comments: 27
Kudos: 57





	1. Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just another day for Sunny and Sides at this human-made facility.  
> Except you're new...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Because animal husbandry is a thing NOT done to sentient lifeforms, this chapter may contain a touch of Dub-Con that is referenced in this chapter. It is not a consistently persistent topic throughout the story. 
> 
> After watching that documentary 'Blackfish', and reading a few Merformer fics, guess who sat awake one night thinking of a story?
> 
> I hope you enjoy my first Merformer fic.  
> Much love to you all <3

“Look at me!”

Sideswipe pressed his face against the clear divider, his claws shoving through the holes. He didn’t care how the sharp edges razored into his webbing, it didn’t stop him from trying to shake this immovable and invisible wall. He cried out desperately to his brother, “Look at me, Sunny! It’ll be okay. Just close your eyes. It’ll be okay. They’ll bring you right back – just let them do what they want!”

Sunstreaker whipped through his side of the tank, crashing and rubbing his back and sides against the walls. Dull and dead scales and skin sloughed off, leaving clouds of sickly yellow and brown, but the once golden mer’s objective was the needle that stuck along his dorsal fin. The needle that delivered a terrifying sting that both brothers were familiar with.

He couldn’t fight the sluggishness that weighed his limbs, no matter how hard he tried. Sunstreaker cornered himself at the far end of the round tank, pressed up against the divider that separated him from his only family. Water surged through his gills rapidly, his eyes wide and wild, searching for the bipedal land mammals to make a move.

They always waited till he was completely out, when he was completely _vulnerable_.

“First chance I get... if I wasn’t strapped down...”

“No, please,” Sideswipe pleaded, “If you hurt someone, they may take you away again. Just – just let them –"

“They poke and prod and _cut_!” Sunstreaker snarled, frayed with a frightened pitch. “Who’s to say this is... the last time... last time I see... I see...”

The red mer sucked in water through his gills at the memory of being alone for what felt like seasons upon seasons. Since being reunited with his brother in this haphazard holding tank, he lived in the fear of having Sunstreaker taken away from him, again. So much so, sleep never came easily, as if it ever had to begin with.

Sideswipe watched Sunstreaker’s body go slack, and he tried and failed to keep the warble from his tone. “You’ll see me again, don’t worry. Just be good. Please, just be good, and they’ll bring you back. They’ll bring you back.”

He continued to chant, even though his brother didn’t answer, laying unconscious on the floor as his rotted scales continued to drift around his side of the tank. They used to sparkle in the light. _They used to stay on his body._

 _Now_ the land-mammals entered the water from the platform the mers could slide up on, wearing their fake skins and fins. The whine of their land-machines rumbled as the arm of it hung overhead, dipping in the straps that would wrap around Sunstreaker and haul him out. Sideswipe remained pressed against the clear divider, smelling the familiar scents of the Keepers, watching them as they made their way to his brother.

It was a feat to remain calm. He mustered everything he could to not bare his fangs as these bipeds grabbed onto Sunstreaker and pulled him to where they could wrap him up. The mixture of fear and anger kicked up the same _fight_ instinct he would feel while facing a Great White, but something gave him pause.

There were four of these mammals. _Four_. It usually took only two to strap up and take Sunstreaker. Not often, there would be a third, the one they were _very_ familiar with. They dubbed him the _Leech_. He was always sticking them with needles, cutting into them, doing horrible things, _uncomfortable things,_ and just simply _watching_ with those beady little eyes.

The Leech instilled more fear than anger within Sideswipe. He did things that gave the mer nightmares.

But the fourth he didn’t recognize. _You_ were new.

You were shaped differently than the rest. There was a fresh and odd smell to you, but maybe because Sideswipe grew used to the scent of their Keepers. He would dismissively say that you all looked the same, but there came a time when he stopped fighting and started observing as these mammals observed him.

Your mannerisms were different. You ran your bare hands over Sunstreaker’s side, dull and dead scales floated off at your touch. You gingerly touched his fraying, hole-ridden fins, and there was something rueful with your movements. That, or maybe Sideswipe was just hopeful in a place where none existed.

He flinched as you turned your head to look at him with that big round glass eye-cover to protect your little ones. You swam closer, and he shirked back. He felt his lip twitch as you waved. He remembered when he was first brought here. All the weird little mammals _waved_.

Your eyes left his and traveled down his body. You seemed fixated where he had those painful white blisters that collected and pressed up under his scales. You looked at him like the Leech would, but you pressed your hand against the divider while the other fluttered around the hollow of your soft throat. There was something tender with how... _concerned?_ Was that concern? Sideswipe wasn’t sure. It’s been a long time since he’d seen _compassion_.

The Leech swam up, prompting the mer to back away. The land-creature patted your shoulder and gestured you to follow. Sunstreaker was strapped in, and the machine-arm was lifting him from the water. With one last glance towards Sideswipe, you followed the Leech up and out of the tank. The two Keepers remained, using nets to scoop out as much of the remnants of Sunstreaker’s fin and scale rot.

Sideswipe curled up in the corner, itching and picking at his scales and fins in his anxiety. He would refuse to listen to the commands of the Keepers, and refuse the food they would give him – not that he could keep that dead, mushy fish down, anyways.

He would sit idle and wait for his brother to be returned, _if he was coming back, this time._

~~~

Sunstreaker felt the warm, mammal-hands on his scales before he could move a claw. His eyes shot open, taking in the blindingly familiar white and silver room. _This_ was the Leech’s room. _This_ is where the terrible things would happen. He rumbled and started to squirm, testing the straps that firmly bound him to the floor.

 _The floor_. Good. He preferred the floor. Last time he was up higher on a table large enough to hold him, they did unspeakable things that still haunted his dreams. These creatures had no scruples, no boundaries, _no_ _right_. He shuddered to think _why_ the bipeds would do such a vulgar thing to him and his poor brother. 

Hearing the deep tenor of the Leech made him hiss with each breath. The mammal was vocalizing to his little pack, speaking that animal-language the mers didn’t understand. It was complex with its baritones and pitches, but it was just _noise_. Sunstreaker felt hands down along his tail and he hissed louder, feeling them jerk away momentarily.

Then a new form entered his limited vision. _Yours_. At first, all bipeds looked the same, but once Sunstreaker was reunited with Sideswipe, they started keeping tabs on those who harried them. That’s when he noticed different colors, different statures, different inflections to their noise. He learned who was afraid of him, who was cruel, who was responsible for what purpose – so the question was: what was _your_ purpose?

Sunstreaker felt the Leech scrape harshly along his tail by his pectoral fins and he snarled, tensing against his restraints. You leaned down, cooing in soft tones like he was some youngling. You hesitated to touch – as you should – but found bravery, _or foolishness_ , and stroked along his shoulders.

He lurched your direction, snapping. If he was not bound, you would have lost an arm. “Don’t touch me!”

You withdrew quickly, but steeled yourself and continued to try and soothe him like a beast. Sunstreaker hissed and growled with every breath. There was no point in talking to these mammals, no point in talking to _you_. You wouldn’t understand him, just like he didn’t understand you.

But Sunstreaker knew laughter when he heard it. It was more annoying than a pod of giggling dolphins, and that was saying something. This brand of laughter from the Leech was loud and _mocking_ and directed at _you_.

From the corner of his eye, he watched your face twist in a glower as you glared at the Leech. You spoke sharply, defensively. You removed your hand from his side and held it up for the Leech to see, then gestured to the entire breadth of the mer. Your tone turned from compassionate to patronizing, and Sunstreaker caught a _hint_ of a challenging inflection.

Oh, you had _fire_.

He never witnessed dissent in the ranks. The Leech was obviously the superior, judging how everyone else seemed at his beck and call. You were new. Were you not inducted into the pod? Were you an outsider? A challenger to his position of power? Sunstreaker didn’t know how bipedal pods worked, but there was some kind of structure he had yet to figure out.

You continued to talk, but turned back to the dull, yellow mer. You gingerly touched along his fins, getting dangerously close to the ones along his face. Just a little closer, and he might be able to take a finger.

But Sunstreaker found himself quieting down, listening to how soft and remorseful your tone became. There was an ache, something desperate woven into your words. This was one of the few times he wished he could know what you were saying. Why did you seem so _regretful_?

Did you know how beautiful he used to be? Did you know that his scales glittered under the ocean moon, and his long and full fins shimmered and flowed to perfection? How long has it been, how many seasons since he’d been captured? Did you know how this happened to him? How his glorious fins and scales came to suffer from the rot?

Your inflection shifted to something a little more persuasive as you spoke to the Leech, like you were trying to convince him of something. He felt the tremble to your hand as you stroked him. You were nervous. Was it because the Leech was your superior, or was there something else causing you unease?

The Leech snapped at you, surprising both you and Sunstreaker. The mer responded to the creature raising his voice with a rattling hiss, and you jerked your hand away and shot to your feet. _Good_. You had a healthy fear of Sunstreaker, as you should. You’ve had to have heard the tales from your kin, of missing fingers and limbs and bites so deep and succulent. It made him start working his jaw just thinking about it.

You stepped back and watched, arms crossed and looking defeated. It was only a passing thought, wondering why you appeared so unhappy, and what you were trying to convey earlier, before Sunstreaker felt the sting of a needle. He tensed and hissed, wriggling against his restraints until he lost all sensation of his entire tail from the waist down. He groaned, feeling nausea wash in like the rising tide.

These things the land-mammals gave him and his brother, it always made them sick. Especially Sideswipe, to the point where he could barely keep down food. This wasn’t the first time Sunstreaker was stuck with something that made him numb, but not numb enough. He still felt the dull ache of something scraping the scales off his tail hard enough to rock his body, hard enough where he knew it was going to be raw.

 _That_ nauseated him more than anything.

He heard your voice chirp up a few times before Sunstreaker closed his eyes and tried to block out everything. He immersed himself in the memories of swimming in that open and vast ocean of the depths of his home, of simpler times with the pod.

He tried to daydream of the Hunt. It was the thing Sunstreaker and Sideswipe always knew they would join since they were merlings. They weren’t the largest in the pack, but they were the _fastest_. To bring back a good haul for the others, to scout out new places to call their own for their nomadic faction, to hold their territory from rival clans, to explore and discover, to feel that _rush_ was something they were made for.

Sunstreaker just wished they took the warnings seriously.

They never believed _Humans_ were real.

~~~

* * *

Human Resources/Documents/Employee Email Records  
Evidence Log: #3846AH  
Tagged: Species#1984S, Species#1985S, Employee#0059KS, Employee#0189NP

\-------------------------------------------------

Kay,

Another stillbirth. That’s three. From this week ALONE! I don’t know how much more I can take. I know there are some people who think they’re just fish, but Lolo looks so confused when her babies weren't moving. You feel just as bad as me, right? You’ve been here a while, but I think I see what you mean. This place fucked up.

It’s hard to imagine the domestic nereids we have are related to those big wild ones. I mean, just look at them! Goldie’s fins alone should be proof that the domestics have changed and adapted to captivity over the generations – but who would listen to a newbie like me when they won’t even listen to you? You’ve even pointed out that most of the births have to delivered surgically. Are people just ignoring that it’s not natural?

The behaviorist thinks those two wild ones are overly aggressive, but we were all there. They weren’t ‘luring’ in our docile to attack them. I agree with you – they were ‘warning’ them off with their posturing. Ever since Haru compared them to his beta fish, I can't stop thinking about it. What if there’s a language between the nereids? What if ours were hand-raised for so long that it was bred out of them, and now ours are literally too stupid to know these wild ones were telling them NO?

I get that the higher-ups are super excited to get two healthy males and they want to throw the breeding program into overdrive, but we need to slow it down. We still don’t know a lot about these animals. We need to sort out the problems we already have with deformities, illnesses, tumors – we lost Rosie after she was given antibiotics! Shouldn’t we see if our treatments are killing them?!

Remember when they put the wild nereids in the observation tank, and I said to Cher that putting two rutting males in the same tank will probably cause problems, whether they’re from the same pod or litter? And that asshole Doc just butted in and told me I didn’t know shit? You won’t believe which two got into a nasty scuffle yesterday. Hmmm...

That was the last straw for a lot of us. We’re meeting up for drinks at the usual place to talk about the changes we want – and we all want a new biologist to replace that jerk. Titi will be there! He looks like he doing well for having most of his hand chewed off and whatnot.

~ N

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obvious Advice: Never conspire against your employer in writing.


	2. Rival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How the mer-brothers are treated has been consistent, down to the very slop they are fed.  
> But you make yourself known by shaking things up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: You know me, I don't like blindsiding anyone with unwanted surprises, but I'm lucky I have friends to point this out to me before I post more.  
> I completely neglected an important note in the first chapter: The twins refer to you in different pronouns at first, but ultimately, the Reader will be referred to with She pronouns as the story continues. It didn't occur to me in the first chapter that this might be a deciding factor whether someone wishes to continue reading or not.
> 
> Now that's out of the way...  
> Fish Fact: If your frozen fish *smells* fishy (even before thawing), it probably was thawed and refrozen a few times before hitting the shelves. When buying fresh fish at the market, they shouldn't smell sour, fishy, or like ammonia. Fish shouldn't smell overpoweringly fishy, and especially shouldn't be super slimy. You might have a bad time.
> 
> ... I apologize. I really want sushi.

It’s been a few days since the mer-twins saw you.

Don’t assume anything by it. They weren’t _actively_ looking for you, but your new face gave cause for something different to talk about, and they _desperately_ needed something to take their minds off of... well, _everything_.

Sunstreaker gingerly touched along the length of his tail, flinching at how raw and sore his skin felt. The Leech scraped off most of his infected scales down to the tender skin of his flesh, and then slathered this weird goo all over him. It burned and caused welts, leaving him feeling itchy and sensitive. He tried his best not to scratch and rub all over the tank, but he couldn’t control himself in his sleep. He was starting to dig and develop open sores.

Whatever they put on him, he was not reacting to it very well.

The day Sunstreaker was collected and Sideswipe spotted you for the first time, was also the day the Keepers decided to also collect the red mer, but by gentler means. He didn’t get as heavily sedated as his kin, as Sideswipe was mostly compliant, but in the end he always regretted it. He wished he would have fought harder – as if he could – when the humans shoved a tube down his gullet. Whatever the humans pumped into his stomach, all of it came back up.

Sideswipe didn’t know if it was the food or something the humans put in it, but it left him curled up on the tank floor, clutching his stomach and trying to bite down on both his groans and the bouts of nausea.

Neither brother shared their experiences. After so long of the same things happening again and again, they were just relieved to still see one another when it was all over. To talk about the horror and torture one of them went through was to relive it one more time. The brothers would find anything else to talk about, and that included the Keepers.

Which at the sight of your form passing the glass of the observation tank, prompted Sideswipe to ask, “You noticed the new one?”

Sunstreaker glanced lazily in your direction. _He remembered you._ He remembered how you tried to coo at him like a pet, and then stood by while they scrubbed off his rotted scales till there was almost nothing left but raw skin. Did you help the bipeds trim his fins, too? Yes, they were infected and rotting off, but these humans were cutting them away faster than they were growing back!

He snorted out a few bubbles. “Yeah. I noticed _it_.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“No... I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.” The golden mer tilted his head, indulging in the small pleasures of sharing what could be considered juicy gossip. “But it got the Leech all prickly. I think they argued.”

“ _By the depths_ , about what?”

“Frag if I know. I don’t speak _warm-blood_.”

“Well, did they help the Leech or what?”

Sunstreaker shrugged to buy himself time to think about you, but it was over before he even tried. He didn’t like going back to that stark white room, physically or mentally. “I... I was pretty out of it.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Sideswipe said quickly, falling awkwardly quiet.

He wanted to move past this impending heavy silence, so Sunstreaker added, “But I think they said some things the Leech didn’t like. He got loud all of a sudden like he does with his little minions, but this was different. I think it was _challenging_ him.”

“Human pecking order.”

“Maybe. Who knows? Mammals are weird.”

Sideswipe shrugged, humming in agreement.

They paused to watch you as you walked back the other way, this time accompanied with one of their Keepers, who looked _very_ uncomfortable. Your strides were slow as you both babbled, your expression intense – _seeking_. Sideswipe cocked his head. It looked like you were interrogating him.

“What do you think they’re talking about?”

“Dunno,” Sunstreaker answered absently, also entranced with your mannerisms. Without thinking, he started scratching at his arm. “Think it’s about us?”

“Honestly?” Sideswipe looked upwards, taking in the daylight. “Probably. It’s feeding time, and he _is_ talking to one of the Keepers that throw us dead fish. I just wish I knew – Hey, stop!”

As his gaze drifted down, he caught his brother distractedly clawing open another wound in his arm. He snapped, “Stop that! You’re going to make it bleed!”

“Like it matters if it does!” Sunstreaker snapped right back, sweeping his arm to display the _glory_ of their confines. “Like a shark will get in _here_!”

“You don’t know!” Sideswipe inwardly cringed at his poor argument.

“If I want to scratch myself open, I will!”

“That’s a stupid thing to get stubborn about.”

“About as stupid as you mothering me.”

“It’s not _mothering._ If Ratchet was here, he would tell you the same thing!”

Then came the silence, letting the memories of better times leach in. Memories of things they’ll never have, again.

Sunstreaker crossed his arms tightly, mainly trying to rein in his idle itching. Sideswipe looked down at the bottom of the tank. Some of his brother’s scales had drifted over under the barrier. The red mer caught on the slightest scent of his brother’s blood.

“If Ratchet was here,” Sunstreaker murmured, “we wouldn’t be like this. We wouldn’t be sick. This wouldn’t be happening to me, or you.”

“Was it Ratchet or Prowl that told us about the humans?”

“ _Everyone_. Everyone warned us about them.”

A stillness heavy with regret followed. The waters were calm as they sat, curled amongst themselves. There was no use in blaming anyone, or wishing things happened differently. It wouldn’t change how they didn’t listen, and they _both_ went too close to the human’s ship and got tangled in their nets.

A chime split the quiet. It was too loud, too pitched, and within this prison, it was only amplified by the walls. It made the brothers growl and wince.

“The masters’ call,” Sunstreaker spat.

“I can’t. Not today,” Sideswipe sighed out, his gills fluttered as they circulated water. “I’m so tired. I can’t do any more of their stupid tricks.”

The golden mer cast a worried glance at his brother, working his jaw before saying, “Of course you can. You need to eat. Try. _Please_.”

“Will you?”

“No,” He rumbled, “The surface feels like a jellyfish cluster. Whatever they put on me, it makes the air burn my skin.”

“I’ll try to bring you something.”

“No,” Sunstreaker repeated. “ _You_ need to eat and keep it down.”

“ _You_ try keeping rotten fish down after they sting you with their needle.” He gagged at the thought of it all.

“Sides,” His brother warned in _that_ tone.

Sideswipe floundered like a finlet throwing a tantrum, groaning, “Fine. I’ll _try_.”

The red mer left him, floating till he breached to look up at the floor where the humans waited. He immediately perked up at the sight of you. _Why were you here?_ It quickly didn’t matter as he sucked in the surface air, and with it the rank smell of fetid fish. His gut lurched and he sunk back down in the water.

“It’s the fish from last week!”

“Just deal with it!” Sunstreaker snapped.

Sideswipe groused loudly and swam his way to the platform. He hoisted himself up halfway. The Keeper chimed again, garbling out a command to beach himself all the way on the slick surface of the shallows. The red mer just laid on his front, the rest of him floating in the water off the ledge. He whined, “I’m tired. Just feed me. Don’t make me do stuff.”

You stopped the Keeper from hitting the chime again – _thank Primus_. He could imagine Sunstreaker would endure the pain just to cause a ruckus on his side of the barrier. You babbled at the Keeper, hands waving over in his direction. Your tone was firm, but not aggressive.

Sideswipe tilted his head. This was the first he heard of your voice. It sounded different from the rest, but he couldn’t get over how you behaved. You had this authoritative countenance that rivaled the Leech. Maybe you _were_ a rival.

He picked his head up more as you relieved the Keeper of their bucket of gross fish. Slowly, you approached Sideswipe, but kept a safe distance further up the platform and out of the shallows. You were tense, that much he could see, but your voice was smooth and soft.

Sideswipe remembered some of the Keepers spoke to him that way, _at first_. They would try to connect with him, talk to him, _communicate_ with him. But they would hurt him, feed him revolting foods, put him in tanks with other mers that _weren't like him_. Then they moved him in a tank with his brother at the _worst_ time of the season. Then they fought. Then they got hurt. Then they got sick. Then everyone else stopped trying to talk to him.

Best break you in now. The new humans, once they learned, they stopped being nice. The red mer let out a rattling hiss that rippled the waters. He felt movement in the water. Sunstreaker was suddenly alert and ready.

You paused, muscles tensed, and then you _laughed_. He blinked. It wasn’t a mocking laugh – _nervous, yes_ – but nothing that made him feel demeaned. It was more for your sake, to shake off your fear, and you were _afraid_. Sideswipe could see it in your posture; see it in your eyes. You _knew_ you were no longer apex predator in this space.

But you were still _here_ and continued with that soft, soothing tone of yours. You coaxed him closer. Sideswipe, overwhelmed with curiosity, pushed himself up on the platform. Then, you came near enough to cause the Keeper to chitter fretfully, and you ignored him. _You shouldn’t_. You were close enough to swipe, to sink his claws into you and drag you under. Would he get sick with a belly-full of _human_?

Would it be worth being separated from his brother, again?

You brought the bucket close, pulling out one of the many slimy corpses, and held it out for him. Wriggling it to get his attention. He couldn’t help himself as he turned away and heaved. Sideswipe clenched his jaws shut, waiting for you to bark insistently at him to open his mouth so you can force it in like a finicky newborn.

But your barking was reserved for the Keeper. He turned his head enough to peek, noticing you stepped away to shake the pail of death at the man. You sounded accusatory, _mad_ even.

Sideswipe listened to the uncertain tones of the Keeper, then the human cowed at your strong rebuke. _Wow_. For a form like yours, you were a little _spitfire_. The Keeper left, taking that bucket of rancid fish with him, but _you_ remained. You stepped back to a safe distance, but you started talking to him, again. Easy tones. Peaceful inflections. Smooth pitch.

Humans always worked in packs. You were _alone_. Were you stupid or confident?

_What was your purpose, here?_

He turned to call out, “Sunny, get up here!”

When he turned back, you were back a few more paces, closer to the door. He found himself chuckling, wondering what he sounded like to you. He didn’t mean to startle you.

On the other side of the tank, Sunstreaker mounted his side of the platform. He looked ready to fight, eyes narrowing on you. If only the clear divider wasn’t there, would you be in trouble.

“Everything alright?” He asked cautiously, strain tightening his tone.

“He’s...talking to me.” Sideswipe watched you, and you resumed making your noises.

“They do that,” Sunstreaker growled, wincing as the air bathed over his raw skin.

“Yeah, but listen...” He lowered himself to lay on his front, arms tucked under his chest. It was a posture the Keepers appreciated. It seemed non-threatening, submissive, and maybe even _cute_ because it made some of them babble and coo. Truthfully, it didn’t hinder them in the least. They could still move quickly enough and ruin anyone’s day.

You continued to speak in that strange animal language, but never got closer. Your eyes darted to Sunstreaker briefly, lingering long enough to note he was there. Then you gasped, making a pitched noise of alarm as you stepped up to the divider. Sideswipe flinched back, and at his sudden movement, you hesitated for a fraction.

There was a fine line between respect and fear. Which was it for you?

There was still a great enough distance between you and Sideswipe; wide enough that if he made any aggressive moves, you could make your way towards safety – _if_ you didn’t slip and fall. It made you confident enough to take most of your attention off the red mer. Sideswipe simply watched you. He had no desire to slice you to ribbons, as you seemed to know he could do.

You pressed yourself against the clear divider, looking over Sunstreaker. Your tone lowered to something heated, irritated, but not directed at any of them. Instead, it was directed at the Keeper that had returned. The smell that wafted from the bucket was a stark difference from earlier, and Sideswipe actually felt his stomach grumble.

You laid into the human, growling and pointing to Sunstreaker. The poor Keeper stammered, clueless and defensive.

The mer-twins watched on. _This_ was new.

“They’re _mad_ ,” Sideswipe said in a breath.

“What about?” Sunstreaker couldn’t even _feign_ disinterest.

“You. Gotta be you,” The red twin glanced in his direction. “As soon as they saw you, they were all a-rattle.”

Sunstreaker tensed, more from the idea of him being a topic of argument and not know _why_ you were arguing about him, than from the persistent sting to his tender, inflamed skin.

“Sunny,” The red mer asked quietly, “What was he like when you first saw them?”

Going back to that memory was remembering how helpless he was, strapped down and stung with things that made him unable to move. Briefly, Sunstreaker went back to that space long enough to give his brother an answer. “Different.”

You took the pail from the Keeper and approached Sideswipe with a calmer disposition. The man babbled something to you, but you ignored him, pulling out a fresher fish corpse. The mers were expected to perform tricks that the Keepers tried to teach them, and to open their mouth to receive their food like they couldn’t feed themselves. You flung it across the platform, and it slid to a stop right before Sideswipe.

No tricks. No annoying chimes or barking prompts. No stupid poses or subjugating himself to demeaning positions.

Sideswipe looked over at Sunstreaker, who was equally perplexed at the change of pace. He quickly batted the dead fish under the clear divider, and the golden mer didn’t hesitate to gobble it up. The Keeper warbled disappointedly at you. You snapped back, hand flailing about like a drowning bird. You were defending what you did, and you were scolding the Keeper like _he_ was responsible for their condition.

“Is it any good?” Sideswipe sidled up against the divider.

“Still tastes dead, but better than usual. Freshly dead.” Sunstreaker said with a full mouth. “Still icy, too.”

The red mer whined a little. It sounded appetizing for what they usually got.

You returned your attention back to the mers, and edged a little closer, this time coming up against the barrier. Sunstreaker let out a low rumble that your human ears couldn’t pick up. The divider always made you soft little bipeds so _brave_. This time, instead of tossing another fish to Sideswipe, you fed it through one of the many holes in the wall. It flopped down on Sunstreaker’s side, and just laid there as no one moved an inch.

“What is it doing?” Sunstreaker said under his breath, “Is this a trick?”

You stood there, watching, waiting. You chirped a positive note, urging the golden mer to take it. You pulled out another one and tossed it towards Sideswipe.

“Let’s find out.” He scooped up the dead fish and started crunching away. It still had the faint aftertaste of rot, but it was much more bearable than the older, thawed-out fish.

You slipped another through to Sunstreaker, then tossed an additional one to Sideswipe. And that was the pattern. You fed them one at a time, evenly dividing the pail till it was empty. You relaxed more and more, even when Sunstreaker was right up against the unbreakable clear wall, you had a modicum of fearlessness. 

Sideswipe waited for what was to come. He saw the Keeper pull out that familiar-looking needle. Eventually, he would get close enough and sting him, and Sideswipe would feel his stomach churn and everything he forced down would come right back up. The same war waged within the mer. Should he fight it? If he did, would the humans separate him and his brother again?

Your commanding tone warded off the Keeper, and in turn, the _needle_. He planted his claws on the platform, holding up his torso as you approached a _very_ confused Sideswipe. He stared at you in fascination while you droned that soft animal-song of yours, your eyes taking in the breadth of him.

Your hands twitched, like you wanted to touch him. Your gaze raked over the cluster of infected blisters that collected around his gills. Your tone turned sympathetic. _Did you feel sorry for him?_

Sideswipe wasn’t always like this. He wasn’t this weak, wrought with painful boils, skinny enough where he could count his ribs. He used to be _powerful_. Whales and sharks alike would give him a wide berth. He wasn’t the biggest mer out there, but he had _vigor_ , a passion for the hunt. When his ruby scales glinted from the light, his rivals would _pause_.

But now? Now he was _this_.

The familiar pang hit his stomach. Fish _every day_. It didn’t matter how freshly dead they were, it was the same kind, every day, in varying stages of decay. His guts couldn’t take it. He curled in on himself, groaning and whimpering.

“C’mon Sides, keep it down,” Sunstreaker said softly. “Fight it.”

Sideswipe felt his stomach lurch, and he swallowed. “I never thought I’d miss greens.”

“Me too, bro,” he muttered sympathetically, watching as his brother’s entire body shuddered as he couldn’t hold it back anymore. Sideswipe vomited up about half of what he ate – which was an improvement.

But you didn’t shy away. You bravely closed the distance, stroking his back as you had with Sunstreaker, cooing in that soft, soothing tone of yours.

* * *

Human Resources/Documents/Company Phone Records/Employee Text Messages  
Evidence Log: #5739BB  
Tagged: Species#1984S, Species#1985S, Employee#1679HK, Employee#5931JD

\----------------------------------------------------------------

[11:23pm] JD: You off shift?

[11:48pm] JD: Txt me when you are

[12:12am] HK: Off. Whats up

[12:14am] JD: Wanna meet up

[12:14am] HK: Tired. Just wanna go home and feed my betas

[12:15am] JD: I get it. Did you see Bell?

[12:15am] HK: You mean DOCTOR B. No I avoid her

[12:15am] HK: After what happened to the others I just do my job

[12:16am] HK: At least till I graduate and find something new

[12:16am] JD: Makes sense

[12:27am] HK: Ok I’ll bite

[12:27am] HK: Whats up with the dietician?

[12:28am] JD: Shes unregistered

[12:28am] HK: Wtf so shes NOT a doctor

[12:28am] HK: After screaming at all us because we called her by name

[12:29am] JD: Ikr?!

[12:29am] HK: That has to be illegal. Isn’t Chers gf a cop or something?

[12:30am] JD: Maybe??? I’ll ask. But Vinny confronted Bell about it

[12:30am] JD: IN FRONT OF EVERYONE

[12:31am] HK: The new guy?

[12:31am] JD: The new guy

[12:32am] HK: The one who thought he was hot shit because he worked at some big-time aquarium.

[12:33am] JD: The one that got shut down for animal abuse, yea. Says he was part of exposing them.

[12:33am] HK: Bet he didn’t put that on his resume IF its true

[12:34am] JD: Well he gets to update his resume because today was his last day

[12:34am] HK: He quit???

[12:34am] JD: Fired

[12:35am] HK: For callin B on her bullshit?!?!?!

[12:37am] JD: For ‘inciting a hostile environment’. We were all there. He wasnt fuckin yellin or throwin shit. Aint anything hostile about how he confronted her and accused her of not knowing what she's doing because all the nereids are pukin and shittin everywhere

[12:38am] HK: He go off because he had to muck out the filters?

[12:38am] JD: Maybe. He barfed earlier. BUT then she started goin off saying she attended seminars and done research.

[12:39am] HK: Sooo NO schooling? University? Classes?

[12:39am] JD: Funny thing, she didn’t mention any...

[12:41am] JD: She leaves and that was that. Nothing for the rest of the shift. Then when I’m leaving, I see Vinny getting escorted out with his box of stuff.

[12:42am] JD: Do you know anyone who talks to him?

[12:42am] HK: No and I dont want to know.

[12:42am] HK: Just stay out of it.

[12:43am] JD: Dont you think what happened was wrong?

[12:44am] HK: Yea, but I also have enough college debt to buy 3 houses

[12:45am] HK: I dont know Vinny personally. Honestly, he was an asshole, but now hes an idiot for not going about that smarter.

[12:48am] JD: I agree that he was probably showing off, but he wasnt wrong. The nereids are constantly sick. The new ones aren’t getting any better. The breeding program is a bust. We are losing more of them than they are being born.

[12:49am] JD: And we keep feeding them the same dead fish from some shifty supplier.

[12:49am] JD: We need someone who knows what they’re doing. Everyone at the top doesnt give any fucks about us or the animals

[12:50am] HK: Yeah, it sucks but whatever. Thats how it goes.

[12:50am] JD: Dont you care about the nereids?

[12:56am] HK: I did.

[12:56am] HK: Then one of them ripped off Titi’s hand right in front of me

[12:57am] JD: You were there for that??? I heard about that happening before I was hired. What happened?

[12:58am] JD: Shit sorry. That was really insensitive of me to ask like that. You good?

[1:01am] JD: Did HR ever offer you counseling for that?

[1:12am] JD: They did, right?

[1:33am] JD: Call me in the morning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had NO intention of getting attached to these faceless workers, but guess what? Now there's a sub-plot happening in the background with all these OCs just trying to get by. You won't see much of it, but it's there, peeking around the corner to cheer on the stars of the story.


End file.
